The Color of Deceit
by PenguinsandPasta
Summary: Karkat Vantas moves to the capital city expecting to find a decent job and a normal life. What he finds are inexplicable murders, dragons, pirates, and a corrupted queen who has gone ballistic. AU


Hmm... what should I say... oh, sorry if the spacing's messed up, my document program was glitching a lot today -_-

It's set in a semi-medivalish AU which will be explained eventually. Oh, and it's rated T for obvious reasons.(Karkat karkat karkat)

I don't own homestuck. I am not god and my name is not Andrew Hussie.

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The Color of Deceit- Chapter One

In a faraway land called Alternia, there is a sign. An old wooden sign stuck outside a large gate surrounded by small streams and waterfalls. It says,

"_Welcome __To__ the__ Grand__ City__ of__ Skaia__! __We __hope __you __enjoy__ your__ stay__!"_

These are the over enthusiastic words that greet a lonely stranger who has been wandering for quite some time. However, these bright words do not cheer the angsty stranger up..

Instead they do the opposite, and send him into a inexplicable fury.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS PLACE THEY THINK THAT THEY CAN STUFF STUPID CHEERY WORDS IN MY FACE AND EXPECT ME TO ENJOY MY STAY? ENJOY IT? THESE STUPID FUCKING PEOPLE ARE ALL CRAZY PSYCHOS AND I SHOULD HAVE NEVER LEFT TROPIS FOR THIS GODDAMN FUCKED UP CITY WITH ITS FUCKING SPARKLY FOUNTAINS THAT ARE IMPOSSIBLE TO PASS AND ITS STUPID FUCKING PRETTY WATERFALLS AND I SHOULD HAVE JUST SUCKED IT UP AND STAYED IN THAT ROTTEN CITY AND JUST KILLED ALL OF THE FUCKING PEOPLE WHO MADE MY FUCKING LIFE AS ANNOYING AS FUCKING HELL AND FUCK THIS IS THE WORST BIRTHDAY EVER."

As one could figure out... Karkat Vantas is not in a good mood.

He just took a fifty mile long trek from the city of Tropis only to find out that _on __his__ birthday__, __his __goddamn__ motherfucking __birthday__, _he has arrived at the "magical" city of Skaia. Problem is, he can't get in. Apparently they changed some stupid law five years ago so that you need a pass to get into the city through the main gate, and obviously, he doesn't have one.

So he's screwed, because there are no other entrances beside the main gate.

From close up, he looks like someone who is about to go into a flying rage and kill everyone in sight. He looks the same from far away. He is wearing a worn traveler's cloak and carries a small bag full of "otherworldly" possessions.

And today is his twentieth birthday.

He thought that by coming to the capital city, he could finally find a place where everyone is completely sane and they don't constantly scream death threats into his ear because he hasn't motherfucking paid the bills for two months.

Then, he realizes he was probably right on one count. The people in this city are much more likely to behave more civilized than the prowlers in Tropis...

But the other count...

And Karkat Vantas can easily tell by the enormous sinking feeling in his chest, that this city is most definitely NOT filled with sane people. He can just imagine. It's probably a stupid overly bright city filled with sparkling daisies and tulips and inhabited by crazy cat girls.

And to be honest, he's had enough experience with weird cat ladies to last a lifetime. Actually, more than a lifetime. Probably more like twenty.

But his mind wanders away from those thoughts as it fills with the pain of sore muscles and the feeling of total exhaustion.

He's been wandering around the border of the city for hours now, and it looks like there is absolutely no way he can get in without somehow managing to miraculously bust open the gate. He would be have been inside by now if not for the fact that he knows absolutely no one inside of the city. No one.

Not even a stranger.

Wait, that's stupid.

Finally he gets to the point where he is happy to do a fucking pirouette over the edge of the gate. He's that desperate.

So, he actually does it.

Karkat Vantas is not surprised by a lot of things. But a giant ten foot gate FUCKING MELTING right before he hits it doesn't fall into that category.

He falls through the gate and lands with a loud thud and feels a shock of pain shoot up his left leg. He starts to curse louder and louder and doesn't even notice a stranger standing 5 feet away who is laughing his head off at Karkat's ridiculous actions.

He is dressed in normal clothing except for his brightly colored glasses, one of which is a scarlet red, and the other a vivid blue. If not for the glasses, he could have passed for normal, but they honestly make him look like he came out of an mental asylum. And then this completely insane person decides to _talk _to Karkat, making him one of the first to ever start a conversation with him.

"Wow. You're thuh sthupideth perthin I've ever theen come thooh that gate. How long did it thake you? Thoo daysth?"

"Well you know what? You're a stupid jackass, and you lisp is the most annoying thing i've ever heard. Did your mother fucking drop you on your teeth when you were younger?"

"Heh. Maybe. I'll have thoo ask her thomtime. Anywayth, thince you're here, I gueth I'll thee you around dumbathh."

With that, the odd stranger vanished into a narrow alley and left a very irritated Karkat seething in fury.

"THE FUCK DON'T YOU DARE WALK AWAY! DAMMIT, WHY DOES THE FIRST PERSON I MEET IN THIS FUCKED UP CITY HAVE TO BE A TOTAL IDIOT?"

He ranted for a while after the stranger, and then resigned to trying to find some place where he could get a map, or a job, and most importantly, something for his incredibly painful leg.

After a few hours of limping around the impossibly large city, he had had enough. Everyone who came across him ran away hurriedly due to his foul language, and Karkat was always left with no directions, and a huge anger that was building higher and higher. Night was falling, and soon the city would start to chill, and Karkat had to find some sort of shelter. He was hurt and tired, and he getting sick on top of all that would just be a living nightmare. A small light drew him near the Eastern part of the city, but extinguished as soon as Karkat drew near. But the light did illuminate a rather welcoming sight.

A church.

Karkat was not one for religion, and had never practiced it much, but every church in Alternia offered shelter for those in need of it, and right now, Karkat needed it very badly.

He rushed to the church as fast as his injured leg could take him and reached it just as a strange hooded man was closing the eerie gates. Once inside, he was directed to a small alcove where he could lay down and get some sleep unexposed to the harsh elements.

And after some time, he finally drifted off to sleep, and gratefully accepted the tendrils of darkness that enveloped his mind.

_"I hope this wasn't a mistake..."_

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Well, here you have it. My first story! Heh, I was waiting for this day to come about. 4/13 = love ^^

I'm pretty sure I screwed up the POV. Over the next few chapters, I will try to figure out if I want it in 1st or 3rd.

I'd love it if you reviewed or PM'ed me, because I need quite a bit of help with my writing, as you probably can tell. -_-''''

Thank you for reading! :D


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